Installation Project set for May 2011

May, 2011

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I am honored to be included and about to embark on an installation project for the Asian American Women Artist’s Association this coming May. I will be one of twenty three artists sharing the main gallery at SomArts. Having the opportunity to present this project to AAWAA offers me the dignity to honor my self as a woman seeking justice. I feel an enormous desire and willingness to share my story in a safe environment where support and nurturing from women flourish. It would allow me to internalize and dig deep down within to express what has been buried for so long, like unearthing scarred emotions and tears that had no ability to surface because the timing just was not right. I am drawn to this endeavor because of an accident I was involved in last year and subsequently enormous life-changes have transpired through spirit challenging and inspiring me to push myself to be stronger, bolder and more independent in a way I have not been before.

Last May, in 2010, I was struck by a truck while crossing the street in Hayes Valley. When the vehicle hit me, it felt as if a part of me died and my spirit exited my body. The pain was intense, the healing was slow and a strong desire to re-evaluate my life was taking shape. I felt a yearning to ground back into my body, meditation was difficult due to lack of focus, but reiki was my best friend. I needed an outlet and I turned to painting and the Japanese healing art of reiki through the chakras to maintain my being. As time passed and my spirit returned, healing and magical things started to take place in my life, giving me the courage and strength to leave an unhealthy marriage and make my permanent move to San Francisco.

I reflect on this experience, my bad accident, as the jumping off point to making huge changes in my life. Through the support of friends and family, and many friends that I made through AAWAA, I began to feel stronger. Just having a friend to talk to, to share with and to hear other women share their stories, I no longer felt alone. I felt the sisterhood. I believe that my accident and all the unnerving distractions that followed were all meant to happen so that I could take action for myself to start fresh. Living here is San Francisco has not been an easy transition, but I am grateful to be here.

This installation that I propose will take me to a place within the confines of my mind from the collision of impact, where in an instant my world stopped and stood still, frozen in time and space. I will recreate my vision in a room where I will attempt to reveal my story in a three dimensional, abstract format, capturing the moment of the blow from the accident.

My choice of materials will be paintings, with sculptures and capillaries made of raffia and textiles. I will focus on the corporal, with abstract paintings hanging on the walls and streams of capillaries running along the walls and through the paintings along with capillary sculptures. I will include Grove St. and my taped off body lying on the ground. On the main/front wall, I will create a huge web, a mass of vessels encapsulating the woman/painting, trapped in time. The webbing will symbolize the sacral and gold chakra.

I have been on a path of investigating and integrating chakra healing in my work and selected three main chakras colors that will be prevalent in my piece. The chakras are energy centers in ones body that run along the spine, there are seven total, but I will address only three, the root, the sacral and the crown chakra. The root chakra is the first chakra, red or blood red and denotes family, survival, and shelter and is located at the root of the spine. The sacral chakra is located in the stomach area, is orange in color and is the second chakra that embodies key issues such as relationships, addictions, violence, emotional needs, and desire. Additionally, it governs creativity, spirituality and joy on a mental level. The gold chakra is the crown chakra and is the 7th chakra at the top of one’s head that represents inner wisdom and the death of the body. This chakra concept is threaded throughout my installation piece and I intuitively incorporate it into my studies in an effort to integrate holistic health, balance and well being into my daily practice and life.

I envision my community project to be an invitation into my space for women to dialog about issues in their life either one on one or in a group setting to discuss alternative holistic ways to invite healing. I would also like to offer mini reiki sessions for those interested.

Creating this piece amongst my fellow AAWAA artists would be empowering and solidify my womanhood and desire to continue on my path to make meaningful art. I appreciate being offered a platform in which to present my story with new work that confronts and encourages one’s thoughts in a secure and professional setting.